Ron Sexsmith and special guest Jim White (London, Barbican, Sat 30th April)
Jim White.
White is a quirky artist whose guest performance provided a lively opening to the evening. His lyrics, enigmatic in the way a Bonny Prince Billy lyric is, where introduced but quite considerable accounts regarding the context of their creation. To be fair these did add a great deal to the experience of listening to the songs and White is an interesting performer/ narrator. An interesting personality whose experiences include (as noted by the Barbican programme) a New York Taxi Driver, Pro-Surfer, Drifter as well as Fashion Model, Film-Director and photographer. His vocals are lovely but certainly, though this may be an unfair comparison, they pale somewhat alongside Sexsmith whose singing is utterly stunning. White’s strength is definitely in being a narrator, using his diverse life experiences to put interesting scenarios into entertaining melodies. The funniest and my personal favourite is about a Tornado, simply because his introduction to this was great. He recalls the inspiration for this song deriving from an incident in the USA where he and a friend were standing on the coast and saw a Tornado, which then started coming towards them. At the time they were both high on drugs. White recalls that he heard a voice deep inside telling him to run, which he did, in the correct direction; away from the Tornado. His friend however, heard the same voice telling him to run but apparently into the Tornado, by which he was picked up thrown around and then dropped as the Tornado seemed to loose momentum and his friend starts to jump about celebrating the fact he appeared to have ‘killed’ the Tornado. I certainly will listen to more of White’s performances as he is an interesting artist.
Ron Sexsmith.
It was on Songwriter’s Circle BBC4 that I first heard Ron Sexsmith sing with a voice described (by Elton John) as being that of an angel. The episode of Songwriter’s Circle was preceded by a documentary on this artist’s career. His career as a singer songwriter, guitarist (and on piano) has inspired followers and acclaim from figures in the music industry such as Chris Martin (Coldplay), Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. Not long after encountering him via television transmission I had the wonder of hearing him performing live and a wonder it truly was. It is perhaps rare, or at any rate a sign of a very special talent when hearing the performance live supersedes the sound of the artist on record. This was one such occasion. On stage and live his vocals are incredible, utterly stunning in the raw without any of the airbrushing of professionally recorded sound.
His on stage presence is magnetic, his shyness and retiring character I think only add to his on stage charm. That music is truly a way for him to shed his inhibitions and express himself most effectively lends his performances with a natural ease and causing music making to seems deceptively so effortless an art. Music is therapy and a way of life to Sexsmith, as can be devised from comments he makes; “When whatever anxiety you’re feeling turns into a song, that cancels it out, in a weird way.” And “.., writing songs is very therapeutic for me. I would vote for song-writing over therapy.” These feelings are evident in the catharsis experienced by being in the audience of one of his concerts.
What appeals to me about Sexsmith is the beauty of his lyrics, they are in the same vein of poetry as some of Leonard Cohen’s work and set to beautiful melodies. In particular Speaking with the Angels and There’s Gold in Them Hills. What was wonderful about Sexsmith’s performing of his work was the way in which he alternated more melancholy works with more upbeat and up-tempo numbers. He was also able to perform in succession, occasionally interspersing the performance with some lovely and concise remarks which allowed him to build up a beautiful rapport with the audience throughout. He responded to a couple of requests and handed out a typed up version of his lyrics to a spectator who had written in about the importance of a certain song in their lives. These gestures were beautifully and casually done, clearly genuine and without pretension. The way in which he introduced his band members to the audience was well done and the interaction he sustained with them throughout. I particularly liked the way in which he rather apologetically asked Dave Matheson on the keyboard to step aside for him to play piano. He sat at the keyboard rather timidly pressed a few keys and then started playing and singing There’s Gold in Them Hills with beautiful clarity.
A friend of mine studying music related to me she almost saw this concert and that the friend she would have gone with told her it was an emotional evening and they were almost in tears. As the Barbican programme said “Ron’s probing of the human heart in all its sensitivity and vulnerability are true to Ron himself. A performer whose concerts are always heartwarming affairs.” I couldn’t agree more. Sexsmith is undoubtedly a performer of incredible sensibility and tenderness. His concerts are an experience that cannot come highly recommended enough. I was amazed when it was 11 o’clock, we had been listening to him for almost two hours, yet I believe I could have listened for the whole evening.
Ron Sexsmith will be performing again on Thursday 16th of June at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London 7.30pm. Joining him will be rising star Anna Calvi. See link for details: http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/search/results/Sexsmith?filters=type:tessitura_production
No comments:
Post a Comment